Polychrome
The Road to Oz (1909) The Road to Oz (1909) Polychrome aka "Polly" is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum. She is introduced in Baum's fourth Oz book titled The Road to Oz, published in 1909. She makes her debut appearance in the sixth chapter of the novel titled The Rainbows Daughter. Polychrome is said to be a very rare sky fairy who is not actually from the magical Land of Oz, but belongs high up in the enchanted atmosphere within the same universe and continent of Oz and is invisible to anyone outside the dimension where Oz lies. Polychrome has many sky-siblings who are believed to be all girls and who live with their mysterious Father figure who controls the Rainbow, being a part of it. Polychrome is said to be the smallest, sweetest and most merriest of the "Daughters of the Rainbow". Yet she also is portrayed to be the most reckless, always day dreaming, carelessly dancing about to keep warm and always getting lost or left behind by her sky-family and cannot survive on land for too long. Thus, she is forever in search for her "bow". The Road to Oz (1909) *Polychrome is also commonly referred to and known as The Rainbow Fairy, or Princess of the Rainbow. Meeting Polychrome In The Road to Oz, the story opens up in Kansas when a homeless man only referred to and known as the "Shaggy Man" approaches the Gale farm where Dorothy Gale lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. The old man asked Dorothy for directions to Butterfield which was the next town over. Dorothy, seeing that the man was harmless offered to show him the way and with her dog Toto at her side, the three set off for Butterfield. However, while they where walking the group somehow entered another dimension and found themselves in the enchanted continent where Oz and many other neighboring magic countries stood. And during this adventure is when Polychrome appears. The travelers are immediately entranced by Polychromes beautiful appearance and graceful movements and quickly grow fond of her, resulting in Polychrome befriending Dorothy and joining the group on their unexpected journey. It is made clear that although she appears to have a human form, she has a different construction unlike those of flesh and blood. The fact it is stated that Polychrome is thousands of years old bears this out. Polychrome is not necessarily an Ozian. She was not born in Oz, but in the skies above Oz and all the other magical countries in the parallel universe where Oz and its neighboring fairy-countries lie. Polychrome resides in the places that have been enchanted by the magic of Fairy Queen Lurline and are cut off from the rest of the world. Polychrome herself is not even made of bone or flesh, nor does she have any blood. She is not a human, she is made of "Rainbow Dust" and is said to be see through and translucent. Polychrome is the very embodiment of all things luminous, ethereal and angelic. Baum says that in appearance she is unbelievably radiant, magical, beautiful, unearthly, dainty and pure. Polychrome effortlessly floats in the air as she walks, staying at least half an inch above the earths soil. She barley touches the ground if at all, and when she dances only the tips of her toes touch the floor as if she was a Ballerina. Polychrome's skin glows a bright bronze and shimmers in the sunlight. She has bright, stunning, extremely long golden hair that glows as if it were on fire and remains completely loose as it gracefully swims all around her in a cloud as if she were under water. Her large eyes are filled of curiosity, innocence and wonder, described to be of a deep bright violet colour. Polychrome wears a weightless gown that is stained with "Rainbow Tears". She wears flowing, fluffy and gauzy robes of many layers consisting of soft material like thin woven cobwebs colored in uneven stripes of violet, rose-red, topaz, olive, azure, and pure white that all seem to gracefully melt very beautifully into the other creating a tie-dye effect. Her flowing clothes are sheer and also translucent like her form. Interestingly, her attire is not made of cloth or fabric, but clouds painted by the Rainbow. Personality of Polychrome Polychrome is naturally very gentle and delicate in her movements. She is quiet and timid when meeting humans and people from the earth. She usually remains distant until she feels comfortable around them by gaining their trust and knows they will not harm her or try to catch her. Polychromes favorite thing to do other than riding on bows all day with her "Rainbow Sisters" is dancing. Polychrome will freely twirl, spin, jump and leap all about for hours without getting tired or sleepy. Polychrome is said to weigh nothing, not even a pound and eats very little compared to regular mortals. Her diet consists of fresh rain dewdrops, mist-cakes, and cloud-buns. When she tries some of the food Dorothy received in Foxville, she only has a sip of tea and a small nibble of cold turkey. Dorothy says that it's about as much as a fly would eat. Polychrome does, however, manage to slap a guardian Scoodler, allowing Dorothy and her friends to escape being made into soup. Oz History: Polychrome in Oz When Dorothy Gale, the Shaggy Man, and Button-Bright first met Polychrome she was dancing to keep warm after accidentally sliding off her father's Rainbow and landing on the surface of the Earth. Her father had withdrawn his bow, back into the atmosphere without realizing she'd been left behind. She traveled with the companions across the Deadly Desert into the magical Land of Oz and eventually arrived with them at the Emerald City where she attended Princess Ozma's Birthday party. At the end of the celebration and banquet, her father finally found her and extended his Rainbow down again and she was allowed to return safely back home and reunite with her siblings. (The Road to Oz) In The Oz Series... When the Rainbow later set down on Sky Island, Polychrome recognized little Button-Bright who was stranded there. She left the Rainbow for an hour or two to help the boy and his friends, Trot and Cap'n Bill, before returning to her home in the sky. (Sky Island) Polychrome was stranded upon the earth for a second time and encountered the Shaggy Man again (though they didn't seem to recognize one another), along with Betsy Bobbin, Hank, and Ozga the Rose Princess. She accompanied them to the Nome Kingdom to rescue the Shaggy Man's Brother, and there the Nome King was captivated by her and invited her to stay in his Kingdom and make him happy. She refused and helped depose the Metal Monarch. When they found the Shaggy Man's Brother, Polychrome agreed to kiss him to break a spell of ugliness that Ruggedo had placed upon him, saying that she had never kissed a mortal man in all her thousands of years. (Tik-Tok of Oz) On one of her visits to Oz, after she again got separated from the Rainbow out of carelessness, Polychrome fell asleep near the Yoop castle. Mrs. Yoop found her sleeping and, being a Yookoohoo, transformed her into a canary, thus suppressing most of her fairy powers. Mrs. Yoop kept the canary prisoner, until she transformed and captured the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Woot the Wanderer as well. Together, the four planned and made their escape. They journeyed to Jinjur's house, where Ozma met them and transformed them all to their natural forms. Polychrome then went with the party to meet Nimmie Amee, helping them get through a magical barrier using her fairy powers. Soon thereafter, there was a rainstorm and a subsequent Rainbow, allowing Polychrome to return home to the sky. (The Tin Woodman of Oz) She danced down her beautiful Rainbow into the Land of Ev one day, where she met Kabumpo, Randy, and Jinnicky the Red Jinn. After hearing their story, she allowed them to borrow her Rainbow to cross the Deadly Desert. (The Purple Prince of Oz) Similarly, when she met Bucky and Davy Jones, who were also trying to get across the Deadly Desert to Oz, she again offered her rainbow to help them cross. But as Davy was a wooden whale, it was no easy feat for him to actually use the Rainbow. It took much effort from him, Polychrome and her sisters, and even some Cloud-Pushers. He finally got across the Rainbow, though on the far side he began to slide down incredibly fast. He luckily landed in a lake in Oz. (Lucky Bucky in Oz) Book Appearances * The Road to Oz (first appearance) * Sky Island * Tik-Tok of Oz * The Tin Woodman of Oz * Grampa in Oz * The Purple Prince of Oz Background Polychrome is more a decorative than an active presence in The Road to Oz, but she makes positive contributions in her subsequent appearances in Baum's fictions. In Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) she summons the dragon Quox to rescue the captured Ozians from the Nome King. In The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918) she rescues the rusted Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier by oiling his joints, just as Dorothy had done for the Tin Woodman in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and she uses her magic to let the protagonists fit through a rabbit hole. In Sky Island (1912) she provides the solution to the central characters' main problem. She re-appears in some of the books of Ruth Plumly Thompson. In Grampa in Oz she aids the main characters in finally reaching Oz for the climax of the story. In The Wizard of Oz: Dark Witch Rising book one - Rainbow's Emissary by Mike LaMontagne, Polychrome returns to Oz to warn Dorothy that her cousin, Boomer, has come to Oz to claim the magics of the deceased Wicked Witch of the West. She travels with Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, and the Hungry Tiger to stop her cousin before he can use the magics against the rest of the Sky Fairies. Polychrome may have originated in a similar figure in Baum's dramatic treatment Prince Silverwings. In that play, Nuna, daughter of the Storm King, is missing from the ranks of her sister Cloud Maidens. Change the names and the result is Polychrome and her situation. In turn, Polychrome had a clear influence of Jack Snow's Princess Chrystal. In Magician of Oz (2009), by James C. Wallace II, Jamie Diggs, great grandson of O.Z. Diggs, meets Polychrome for the first time when he arrives in Oz thorugh the Council of Trees. She transports him by means of her father, the Great Rainbow, to the Red Brick Palace of Glinda, Good Witch of the South. In Shadow Demon of Oz (2010), by James C. Wallace II, Polychrome escorts Cap'n Bill, Jamie Diggs, his best friend Buddy in O.Z. Diggs's balloon into the Emerald City upon their arrival in Oz. In Family of Oz (2011), by James C. Wallace II, Polychrome appears with the Mist Maidens on the high peak of the Great Northern Mountains where O.Z. Diggs now resides following his retirment. In Other Media Return to Oz 1985 Polychrome appears among the crowd in the final Oz scene of Disney's Return to Oz, which is now a famous Cult Classic. She is played by Cherie Hawkins in an uncredited role.Internet Movie Database, "Cherie Hawkins" She is depicted in silky robes, though much plainer than depicted in the book. The only distinguishing mark that she is Polychrome is the rainbow that she wears on top of her head. Polychrome also appears in The Story and Songs of The Tin Woodman of Oz. In this version of the classic novel, she meets Woot the Wanderer and they fall in love and marry. References Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Fairies